


A Goldfinch AU?

by earthkidsareweird



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King, The Goldfinch (2019), The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Boris Pavlikovsky Goes to New York, But Richie is Boris and Eddie is Theo, Eddie Kaspbrak is a Mess, Established Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, M/M, Reddie, Richie Tozier is a Little Shit, Substance Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:02:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22075915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earthkidsareweird/pseuds/earthkidsareweird
Summary: I just read The Goldfinch and I liked it so here is a queerer version but with Reddie because I need that in my life.But just picture it, Richie and Eddie dealing with art thieves.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Kudos: 8





	1. I

# I.

The problem is that he told the truth. 

Eddie hoped it was all some dumb joke, but of course, it had to be the fucking truth. 

He sinks to the ground sitting in front of what he thought was the painting for all of these years. Tucked away and safe. All the money he had spent to protect it and joke was on him seeing it never was there in the first place. Instead, an old civics textbook is there, all wrapped up and so beat up from their school days. **Trashmouth Tozier** is scrawled across one corner in such jagged letters. In another corner, it says, **Bowers**. Eddie rolls his eyes, his life was better not remembering that kid, his older cousin was more unforgettable but there were too many nights where Eddie had to scrounge around for food on his own while Richie chose the Bowers cousin over him.

Eddie continues to crouch there almost tumbling onto his side. The world feels as if it’s about to break. He drank too much again, it’ll be a problem for tomorrow.

“Motherfucker,” Eddie whispers as he gradually finds enough balance to sit up again. “That motherfucker!”

Seems strange to think, moments ago he was out there stumbling around looking for his old dealer. Not finding him as his anger grew then somebody had to go, “EDDIE SPAGHETTI!” That was a huge callback to such a long time ago. Nobody- _nobody_ ever fucking called him that, there was all of one person in the world who’d call him that.

When he turned around, Richie was back there chasing after him almost tumbling face-first on the ground thanks to the weather. All that sleet and snow building up on the sidewalk. “How’d you know where to find me?”

Eddie stared at him just unable to wrap his mind around what was happening. No. What? It did not make sense. None of it made sense. Of course, it was Richie, who else would it be other than fucking Richie “Trashmouth” Tozier. He even looks the same or somehow manages to look almost the same. Turns out he still has black glasses, too big for his face. His dark hair is such a tousled mess. But he wore a big black coat, which was such a contrast to the usual look he had back in the day of Hawaiin shirts and black chucks. Then again they were out in Nevada those days and big coats like that made no sense. Back at a time when the two of them getting too wasted while riding their bikes around the desert like they were never gonna come back. But then, they always had to come back. There were a lot of nights they spent next to each other at his place or Richie’s place, lying out there holding onto one another after drinking too much vodka and watching some bad movies. Then the Bowers cousin popped up in their lives, severing most moments with Richie promising to come back and Richie promising to run away with him then Richie not running away with him. Instead, that time it was Eddie promising Richie, he’d be the one to come back, if he could.

Eddie never went back.

But at least, somehow, Richie came back.

“Wh-What?” blurted Eddie, he tripped on the curb almost falling into the street. Good thing he caught his balance though even on the icy sidewalk.

Richie grabbed onto him, he pulled him into such a giant hug and they were stuck out in the street. “Can’t believe you found me, Eds!”

Eddie hung there unsure what to do, returning a hug was probably ideal. He peeled away putting his hands on Richie’s shoulder then he held onto the sides of Richie’s face. No, he wasn’t even out there looking for Richie. Not at all. But he couldn’t say that.

“What the fuck? Cat got your tongue, Eds.”

And all Eddie managed to say was “Don’t. . .call me that.”

Then what had followed was a whirlwind of the past coming back until Richie admitted a truth he had regretted for so long.

He took the painting. He had the painting all this time up until the Florida incident where he lost the painting. 

But he was gonna get it back. Somehow against all odds Richie was gonna get it back for Eddie.

Eddie continues to stand around inside his climate-controlled unit unable to stop staring at the civic textbook and the corner with **Trashmouth Tozier**. A huge reminder surrounding what he did, and an indefinite future where he and Richie were apparently going to get it back.


	2. II.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bev Marsh makes a comeback and Eddie warns her that Richie is rabies if rabies were a person. Then flashback time.
> 
> TW violence and homophobic language

# II.

“No offense, but I wanted you to know you look like shit.”

Eddie is about to complain only when he looks up he realizes that out of all the people in the world, it’s Bev Marsh. He looks at his watch unsure how long he’d been dozing off there. After a quick scan around the furniture store, he realizes nobody else is around. It’s just Bev and him.

“Did you die or something and come back?” continues Bev. She leans into the counter that he stands behind touching all the pens in a mug. She takes one out and tests it on a post-it note only to find it was pretty dead so she goes onto the next pen. “Because it really looks like you came here from the morgue.”

“What are you doing here?” blurts Eddie. That’s a little rude which gives her a pause. Bev is testing another pen finding works so she writes out Loser then draws a v over the s. “And um hey, Bev, nice to see you again. Mean that, I promise.”

“Welty didn’t say I was coming?” Bev puts the post-it note on Eddie’s forehead and wrinkles her nose because he stinks of alcohol and BO. “Smells like you died of alcohol poisoning.”

“He didn’t say anything to me,” replies Eddie continuing their better conversation.

Bev tests another pen while humming for a bit. “Maybe it’s because he didn’t want to break the good news.”

Eddie gawks at her picking the note off his forehead to look at it. Just like his cast when he showed up at their place all those years ago with a dog in tow and apparently a stolen civics book rather than a stolen painting. She lifts up her left hand showing off an engagement ring there then puts her palm flat on the counter making sure he gets the perfect look.

Except Eddie stands there in silence trying to connect all the pieces together. “I don’t get it.”

“Eddie, I’m getting married.”

“Oh. You are? To who?”

Bev rolls her eyes. “Um Ben, the person I’ve been seeing for these past few years.”

“I thought it was Bill.”

“No, that was so long ago.” Bev pauses. “Are you ok? You really don’t look ok? Can’t Welty just run the shop or could you like shut the place down? It’s not like your busy. I even saw all of one guy hanging around outside for a bit then he walked away.”

“WAIT!” Eddie is so loud he startles Bev. “What did he look like? You saw a guy out there? Like when and what did he look like?”

“I don’t know. He was like wearing a leather jacket? I wasn’t really paying attention.” Again, Bev pauses before she decides to return to her earlier question. “Are you sure you’re ok?”

“Really, I’m just distracted so that’s it.” Eddie stops her from taking the next pen. “Hey congrats though! On the marriage business to Ben and not Bill.”

Only Bev just scowls at him straightening her back. “Anyway, I gotta go. Your fiance whose name I very much remember being Myra invited me to some bridal activities.”

“Her name isn’t Myra. It’s Mari.”

Bev inhales deeply about to panic, but Eddie laughs. She flicks one of the dead pens at him. “Shut up, you’re the worst. All my cards would be wrong.” And Bev starts to back away one step at a time. “I’m gonna make a call so you can go to bed or something so you just aren’t standing around here looking like shit. Nothing you do can stop me.”

The bell rings behind her as somebody enters. They both turn around and Richie steps inside looking closer to his normal self compared to the night before. He’s wearing a brown leather coat with mismatched clothes underneath. His hair still a mess and his glasses all fogged from going from the cold outdoors to the warm, warm inside.

“Oh and who would this be? Customer? Girlfriend? Friend who happens to be a girl? Molly Ringwald?” Richie asks right away leaning into a wall close to the door. He flicks out a lighter and a cigarette and casually starts to smoke even though they’re one, inside and then two, surrounded by wood furniture.

“What the fuck, man? Put that out!” snaps Eddie.

Richie goes to flick the cigarette on the ground.

“DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE! You idiot! NO! Outside! I know you’re house trained, Tozier, so don’t pretend otherwise.”

Richie rolls his eyes and sidesteps outside to continue smoking all while Bev stands there gawking at him. He waves to her through the window and Bev looks back at Eddie about to ask who’s that but it’s written so clear across her face.

“That’s rabies if rabies were a person.”

Bev bursts out laughing and returns to the counter to stand by him. “No way, I had no idea the personification of rabies existed and to exist here out of all places? Where’d you meet? Central Park? The Pound?”

“Las Vegas,” grumbles Eddie.

“Noooooo.” Bev slaps the counter laughing. “No way!” She looks back to see Richie is still smoking with his face too close to the window while he looks in at them. He again waves to Bev who waves back before flipping Eddie off. “So that’s him? The infamous Trashmouth Tozier. Oh, classic. How mad would Myra be if I bailed on her to get better acquainted with Mr. Rabies out there?”

“I don’t want her to know about him!” Eddie shouts way too quick in response.

But Bev never has the chance to speak up about this because Richie returns tossing the door dramatically open as he slides straight back into the store. “Aaaaaand I’m back!”

Without Eddie speaking up for her, Bev practically leaps across the store to him. She shakes his hand even though Richie looks quite puzzled about her doing so the whole time. “Bev Marsh. Heard a lot about you.”

Richie awkwardly holds onto Bev’s hand with both his hands. “Oh the girl who was there. . .”

“Yeah, that’s me, I’m that Bev Marsh.” She glances back at Eddie who ignores the two of them. “Anyway, I gotta go to somebody’s bridal shower or whatever.”

“Yours?” Richie asks pointing at her ring.

“No, Eddie’s fiance. He’s getting married. I’ll let you two catch up.” Bev pulls away from Richie so close to leaving but she stops to look back at him. “Hey, can I get your number because I think we need to hang out so I can learn somebody’s secrets.”

Richie looks over his shoulder at Eddie. “Oh yeah, don’t think you’d wanna know all those, but sure.” He takes Bev’s phone from her to input his number. “Feel like a movie would be best.”

“Oh? Why?”

“So we don’t have to talk.”

“ _Richie_!” barks Eddie from behind the counter.

Bev takes her phone back, “Oook then so I’m just gonna go.” As she makes her exit, she flips the open sign to close and is gone around the corner in moments. 

This leaves Richie standing alone in the middle of the store with Eddie behind the counter. He fumbles for his inhaler, which he keeps tucked out of sight underneath. Nothing is really said between the two although Eddie watches Richie close enough to see he’s budding with so many words all building up in his mind, which usually results in him yelling or shouting something ridiculous nobody wants to hear. He tucks his fingers into his pocket to pick at something there.

“What do you want?” Eddie glares at Richie trying to put on his best angry face.

Words still are bubbling up inside Richie but he bites them back to calmly ask, “So you’re getting married? And you like didn’t think to mention it last night?”

“Yeah, what’s it to you?”

“I-I don’t know.” Richie shrugs, hands still in his pocket. “And married to a bride?”

“I am getting married to a bride? I mean, I guess you could put it that way. That’s usually what happens at a wedding, the groom marries a bride.” Eddie pauses. “Her name is Myra if you wanted to know. Since you apparently care so much about my marriage.”

But Richie doesn't move from where he stands while looking at Eddie. “Oh yeah, right, I just didn’t expect a bride, you know what I mean.”

Eddie shakes his head not really sure what on earth Richie is getting out. “What? What the fuck are you even babbling about, Rich?”

“Right, right.” Richie takes one big step backward toward the door. “I’ll have to come back another time, sorry for. . .bothering you.”

When Richie reaches for the door, Eddie comes out from behind the counter looking after him. “Wait? But what were you here for what? Something, right? It had to be something.”

Already Richie is halfway out of the store. “Oh yeah, just wanted to say I got a lead on the painting, but really just to say it real quick. I gotta go. . .follow that lead.” He still stands in the door letting all the cold air in. “Want me to lock the door?”

“No, I can do that.” 

Instead, Eddie walks to the door while Richie closes it. He stands on the other side waving to him before he awkwardly backs away almost falling off the curb. Eddie changes the sign back to open and returns to where he had been standing to doze off and pretend none of this is happening like the civics book sitting in his unit rather than the painting, all thanks to Richie.

The post-it note from Bev remains on the counter. Loser with a v. Eddie stands there staring at it almost falling back to another time back when Richie kept calling the one Bowers cousin, Kotyonok, as some inside joke. He said it so much it got to the point where Eddie long ago forgot the guys name. It apparently was never open as a joke for him to understand even though they had known each other longer. Not to mention, the only fucking reason Richie ever spoke to the kid was cause Kotyonok sold weed at the arcade.

It’d been another one of those weeks where he never saw Richie because he had to spend all his time with Kotyonok instead and Richie had always told Eddie food couldn’t be delivered to the neighborhood like they were too far off the grid forcing him to the point of going into town alone to get some pizza because his mom apparently decided to not be around. She was too caught up in business on the Strip yet still called every single morning and night to make sure he took his medication yet never to make sure he ate.

Problem though was again she always, always called about medication or if she was around, she’d rush him to the hospital for no reason at all other than her swearing that he was in legit danger. Anything can happen. Just look at him and his dad, him almost dying and his dad dying in an explosion at The Met, out of all places. 

It left Eddie behind and alone to swipe food usually from supermarkets but Richie was usually with him and good at it where he was not good at it nor was he good at swiping cash from pockets or wallets. That Richie got mad about insisting it was ok to just steal from stores cause corporations, fuck them or something else offbeat.

The worst part though was it all started to make sense. What had seemed like a peculiar random happenstance instead probably never was because out there Eddie was following somebody around watching as some money was about to fall out of their pocket. The fact that they just shoved it all in there with no wallet meant they deserved to lose their cash especially if it resulted in Eddie eating some pizza.

Right before Eddie could catch a twenty-dollar bill that fluttered out, Henry yelled at him. “Hey! Fuckface! We need to talk!” 

Eddie watched the twenty-dollar bill drift away into the street where some car hit it and it got caught in their fender speeding away while he stood on the sidewalk not ready for any sort of confrontation with the Bowers Gang sans Kotyonok, of course. Richie mentioned something about them fooling around in the back of the arcade between Kotyonok working and dealing. The arcade at least was close meaning Richie was close meaning he’d have someplace to run off to pretending it’d all be ok.

“Heard you were holding out on us,” continued Henry. Patrick stood with him. He kept eyeing anybody else around them. “You really fucking thing you could fuck around with me like that? I’m not a fucking idiot.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about and I’m busy,” replied Eddie without ever looking at Henry. He tried to keep his head down and push past the two but Patrick clotheslined him the split second he thought he would get away. It felt as if all the air was knocked from his lungs as he fell back hitting the ground. Wasn’t even like he got hit that hard. He’d survive an explosion, just fine. He could survive this, too, maybe. But still he found himself using his inhaler like Patrick threw him into an asthma attack.

"Hey Cocksucker! I'm fucking speaking to you so you better fucking listen!" Henry started to yell in his face. Eddie sat there looking past them at that arcade. "Your fucking dickwad of a friend said you got something to sell to payback for all that shit you stole. You know how much trouble I got in? You even get what you took? Your fucking pal said something about something you lifted from New York. That it'd sell for a lot. I’m gonna fucking want it. Got it?"

Nothing Henry was yelling about even made sense and Eddie almost thought it was worse he said the word pal cause he almost laughed about it. Eddie tried to get up but Patrick kicked him back down. Nobody was even saying anything about this either. Fuck adults. 

Again Eddie looked at the arcade thinking he could make a run for it. Big problem though was more the cars than the Bowers Gang. Only some cars swerved out of the way as Kotyonok sprinted after them. His face was so red and full of panic. Eddie couldn't hear what Henry was going on about at that point instead he did make out an _ompf_ from Henry as he staggered forward trying not to eat curb. 

Richie stood there with some dilapidated baseball bat from the batting cages at the arcade. There was a strangled NO from Kotyonok as he came a lot closer. 

Patrick went to wrestle the bat free from Richie's hands but in retaliation, Richie started to kick and spit at him. So Patrick backhanded him across the face knocking his glasses to the ground where they snapped. Eddie sat there hugging his inhaler. Richie was already about to get up but fucking Kotyonok went for the baseball bat next to wrestle it free. 

"What the fuck?! You faggot!" Kotyonok snapped at Richie who lost his grip on the bat and fell back down. The two of them were sitting ducks especially with these fuckheads around them. "The fuck is wrong with you?" Kotyonok took a step closer to Henry handing off the bat to him all while paying full attention to Eddie. "Hope you know he was the one who sold you out on the whole bird business."

Richie looked as if he had been shot or something by the way he just sat there in shock. He never even reached out to salvage whatever was left of his glasses. Eddie stood up and helped him up partially hoping this all meant Kotyonok would be out of the picture but it wasn't even like it was the first time the guy sided with Henry. Once Richie had asked about it while they all swing out on swings at some abandoned desert playground. To think, the whole time Richie was there pressing a bag of frozen peas they stole to the side of his super swollen face, courtesy of Henry and Kotyonok Bowers. For some asshole reason, Kotyonok sobbed at the question unable to stop apologizing about the earlier incident. It was just so hard with how family had to come first and all. Words that meant nothing to kids like Eddie and Richie who didn’t even have cousins and pilfered food and drugs because of their shit parents.

"Sold me out?" Eddie asked feeling a little dazed due to a lack of oxygen and the tightness in his chest. 

"I-I have no idea. They're fucking liars," muttered Richie. 

Henry had that bat. He looked at the two of them before he signaled to Kotyonok and Patrick. "We settle this debt like adults. C’MON!"

It was Kotyonok who handed Richie's glasses back to him. Eddie could’ve sworn Richie’s hands were shaking as he took them. A crack ran through one lens and the pair was split in two. Richie held them up to his face like that would help him see the situation better. 

Kotyonok and Patrick shoved the two off the sidewalk and into a side alley. The two shoved Richie and Eddie into a wall that had seen better days. Looked as if it was too sun-bleached and full of piss from drunks who stumbled out of the corner bar unsure where the actual closest bathroom was.

Richie lowered his glasses, dropped a half while he held onto the cracked lens super tight. He gritted his teeth looking at Henry and the rest of his gang. 

"Look one or you both gotta pay up for the oxy you stole. My dad fucking noticed right away and you know who he blamed?"

Henry was probably about to say me when Richie spoke up, "You."

Patrick hit Richie on the side of the head. "Just fucking shut up for once."

It wasn’t even like he struck Richie. “Ah fuck off, we all know you steal his shit to sale. It was about time he caught on.”

That time Kotyonok punched him in the face, struck him from the same side as Patrick, and that time around he looked stunned. The impact split his lip and Richie sucked in his lower lip hiding the blood. His face was already starting to swell up, but he’s looked worse in the past.

"If you don't get money then you're gonna have to pay up in another way. Got it? I know you're familiar with debt collectors." The last part Henry said right to Eddie who held onto his inhaler a little tighter. 

"Hey _Henry_. . ." started Richie. Eddie lowered his inhaler and put it in his pocket. Ah fuck no. Richie had to keep his mouth shut for a change. Yet Richie stood there with too many words inside of him as per usual and a weird grimace that Eddie understood too late in the game. "Didn't your dad teach you anything right? Just get out there on some corner and suck some dick for cash, I'm sure your good at it by now."

Before Henry or Patrick made a move, Richie had crushed his frames even more using a piece of the lens to strike out and he hit Henry's cheek. Everybody had been so startled and there was way more blood than expected that Richie grabbed onto Eddie in the Bowers Gang moment of distraction. 

Distraction didn't last for long because Henry never lost that bat and Richie was honestly blind as a bat without his glasses. He sort of staggered forward in an attempt to get Eddie away from the scene. But Henry himself proved as a distraction as he started to just scream with such animalistic fury and whirled around swinging the bat. 

The bat came right down on Eddie's arm making such a large cracking sound it reverberated off the walls. Eddie shrieked and tried to crawl away while hugging his now very crooked arm closer to himself. His inhaler gone, somewhere on the ground. Maybe his arm was at a weird angle because it wasn’t broken?

It's as if they're in no other danger the way Richie acted. He crawled after him looking at the way his bone was about to poke through his skin if it were jagged enough. 

Still Richie crawled after Eddie trying to say over and over again, "Let me set it." But. His words blurred in the pain. So much pain. And there was Richie getting so much closer like Henry won't beat him too and Henry probably would've if Kotyonok hadn't decided to drag Henry off with Patrick wrestling the bat free and tossing it at a dumpster. 

"Don't you fucking touch me!" Eddie kept screaming at Richie who was still ready to reach out and snap his arm back into place. "Don't touch me! DON’T YOU FUCKING TOUCH ME!"

But Richie wasn’t gonna listen and hugged him helping him up and again pulled him along while screaming for help. For somebody to pay the fuck attention to them, any of them. The whole world was at a loss and Eddie had left his inhaler behind him and he couldn’t breathe, just feel pain. So much pain. It broke the universe until he woke up in some hospital bed. Turns out, he didn’t die.

Off to the side Richie was slumped over in a seat, fast asleep. He kept one hand on the bed while he drooled there, still without glasses and still with Henry's blood on him. Eddie sat up to look at him there as he continued to sleep. A big white cast covered his arm feeling itchy already. It already stank of sweat. 

"EDDIE! EEDDIE!" his mom screeched on the other side of a door and she barged in even with security and a nurse after her. "What happened? How could you let him do this to you? What did he do to you?"

For a moment, Eddie thought Richie was dead cause this did not appear to wake him. But maybe he was actually awake all along. He laid there then slowly sat up. 

"I should um go. . ."

Eddie's mom slapped him across the face startling Richie and everybody who followed him. His face already so swollen from earlier. Richie touched the side of his face while he gawked at her. "Arrest him! Look at what he did! Look at what he did to my precious boy!"

For somebody who rarely knew when to shut up, Richie at least did in that moment. His last word was him flipping her off outside before he disappeared. At least, they would meet again soon for what Eddie thought was the last time. Good thing it turned out to be all of one long term goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um sorry this is so long, I thought about splitting it up but it really all is just one super long scene.


End file.
